Pleasing God

Hebrews 11:6

But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a reward er of them that diligently seek him.

Hebrews 11:1

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

It appears that pleasing the Lord is not as difficult as we would have it be. I often get the sense that he is just waiting for us to take him at his word with the faith of a child.

It may be counter intuitive for anyone who prays to think they are not praying to someone who exists, but I think sometimes we have to ask ourselves that very question.

Are we praying to someone who exists? If this were not an issue why would the verse call out this proposition so clearly? That those who come to the lord must first believe he is and that he rewards those who diligently seek him.

Part of me thinks it's insanely cruel to tell someone seeking assistance that they must do so diligently. From the time we are children, aren't we told Jesus is always with us and that he is just a breath away? Then why are we told he rewards those who diligently seek him? Is there something I have missed? I thought he was the God who always answered whenever and wherever I called.

But here is what I am beginning to understand. The Lord is a loving God, but he is also intensely jealous. He is ever willing to save, but not ever willing to abide with men.

I have never been a party to the belief that says you never know if you are saved or not. I know that I'm saved and that all that come to him, he won't cast out.

But what no one ever talks about is the need to separate oneself unto the Lord; to in fact know he exists and seek after him. You see the lord does answer prayer, but I'm convinced that the only people who fully receive the entire revelation of this are those that move beyond the "poor sinner, saved by grace" mentality and strive headlong into a pursuit of the Lord.

I must be clear, this has nothing to do with the love of the Lord. He loves us all, but really to please the Lord we have to go deeper than where we have been content to stand. We have to pursue him like he is real, not abstract.

Let's be honest with ourselves. How many times when we are praying are we planning for the failure of our prayers, running countless backup plans for when things don't work out. I know that I am not immune to this, but I am tired of it. I'm tired of the constant nagging doubts.

So here we have the issue. When we set our hearts to know him, to peruse him, and above all to trust him. We must diligently seek him. But what is diligence?

Diligence is walking through the trails, facing the doubts, losing loved ones, having prayers fall back at our feet, having prayers answered, facing doubt, feeling pain, and fighting every moment of every day to believe something we can't see or feel.

But here is where we come at the end of our journey. We arrive at "I am." Paul says those that come to the lord must first believe that he is, we really must know that he is the great "I am." and that he is completely other than we are. But that he has embraced us as his own.

I'm not saying any of this to promote doubt or discouragement. What I simply want to say is this: face the fears, ask the questions you have. HE WILL ANSWER, but you have to believe he will. Don't just keep doing things hoping they will work, tell him you are having trouble and ask him to teach you how to know he exists. Ask him to be real to you, he won't turn you away.

And this I do know, that once you know that you know "he is". You will have no doubts that cannot be overcome and no prayers to an open sky. Instead your faith will thrive and most importantly you will please him, which in the end is more satisfying than any other pursuit I can think of.

A very present help in trouble

Psalm 46

God is Our refuge and strength,
A very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though
The earth should change.

Though its waters roar and foam,
Though the mountains quake at its
swelling pride.

There is a city whose streams make
Glad the city of God.
The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her,
She will not be moved:
God will help her when the morning dawns.

The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered:
He raised His voice, the earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us:
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come behold the works of the Lord,
Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two;
He burns chariots with fire.

"Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I
will be exalted in the earth."

The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Tonight I am tired. I have not slept well lately because I let my mind think too much and trust to little. In short I am, like Jacob, a schemer. I keep looking for the ways to score the advantage, to take care of things, and to figure out how to get the blessing.

But guess what? I don't sleep. That doesn't sound or feel very much like peace to me.

So hear is what I must remember and here is what I must do. I must cease my striving and know that when the Lord says, "I am God" He means it. When he says he is an ever present help in trouble, I must take him at his word and trust in his help.

I must do as this psalm says and not fear, even though everything else in my life may be in a state of flux. I must know he is the constant. He is the one who not only causes the storms to be silent, but also makes the wars in my mind and personality to cease.

He is a Shield

Psalm 18:30-

As for God, His way is blameless:
The word of the Lord is tried:
He is a shield to all who take refuge
In Him.

For who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a rock, except our God,
The God Who girds me with strength,
And makes my way blameless?

He Makes my feet like hinds feet,
and sets me upon my high places.
He trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

Thou hast also given me the shield of Thy Salvation
And Thy right hand upholds me,
And Thy gentleness has made me great.
Thou dost enlarge my steps under me,
And my feet have not slipped.


The Lord is our shield. We must realize this. We must know that he is our covering. That he is our God, our protector, our covering!

He doesn't save us and then throw us out there. David says "You train my hands for battle." That doesn't sound like David knew what he was doing, does it? But here is the other thing we must remeber, once we have learned we need to use what we learn. He trained David's hands so he could use them.

But the Lord is our Shield. The shield of faith quenches the fiery darts of the enemy! Trust that he is covering you as he shows you how to join the fight! Whether it's med schools or car payments, he will take care of you while he teaches you how to use his word and how to walk in his ways. But make no mistake, once you know how to fight, once your hands are trained, you will have to use them, in fact I bet you will want to!

So take heart and rest. Rest in the fact that the word of the Lord is tried and he is a sheild to all them that trust in him. If you don't know what to do, if you feel guilt and shame, if you think yourself into a corner, let him be your sheild. Take refuge from all these distractions in Him: and he will show you while he protects you what you need to do. He will never send you into the fray without teaching you how to win the victory!